Bilateral relations between Serbia and Croatia entered a new, more productive
phase following the outcome of last year’s presidential elections in Croatia,
which had been decisevely won by Ivo Josipović. The first few bilateral meetings
between President Josipović and his Serbian counterpart, Boris Tadić, were held
in the atmosphere of optimism and hope. The immediate objective was to place ad
acta some of the most difficult problems in Serb-Croat relationship, such as the
lawsuits that each of the countries raised against the other in front of the
International Court of Justice with regard to crimes committed in previous wars
and conflicts. The second objective was to initiate joint rhetoric and action in
Southeast Europe – especially with regard to EU enlargement in that region. The
joint initiatives by a Serbian and a Croatian president are part of the new
development. It involves a new discourse towards recent past, and thus
facilitates reconciliation. The two presidents have also promoted cooperation in
and stabilisation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. When it comes to regional cooperation
in general, they are led by functionalist approach, and emphasise importance of
cooperation in areas such as security. However, the circumestances are not
entirely favourable for such a change. The two presidents face obstacles in
domestic political arenas – which is especially the case with regard to
contemporary Croatian politics. President Josipović operates in a situation of
cohabitation with the government which is led by a party (CDU/HDZ) that is
somewhat sceptical towards closer cooperation with Belgrade and Sarajevo. In
addition, financial crisis as well as the crisis of legitimacy influence the
EU’s view of the Balkans. Faced with Greek, Bulgarian and Romanian problems (the
Balkan triangle), some in the EU begin to doubt about the prospect of further
enlargement in Southeast Europe. Hence, the success of the new initiatives by
Presidents Josipović and Tadić depend not only on what they wish to do – or even
on what they actually do – but also on future trends in their respective
domestic politics and in

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